By Lori Ehde
Saturday dawned sunny and calm in the Blue Mounds State Park. It was cold - with temperatures barely climbing above zero - but conditions were perfect for another session of animal tracking in the snow.
Though many animals hibernate in the winter, Park naturalist Dave Rambow said the park is alive this time of year with animal activity - and the evidence is in the tracks they leave in the snow.
"Each set of tracks tells a story," Rambow said.
"Each animal has its own pattern. Rabbits run from tree to tree, from cover to cover. Deer follow established trails, moving from feeding area to feeding area, from bedding area to feeding area."
Some stories written in the snow are about life and death.
"Once I found a place where an owl pounced on a mouse," Rambow said. "Where the mouse tracks stopped, you could see the imprint of wings and tail feathers."
He said following tracks in the snow is a way to experience animals without actually being there to see them.
"It compresses time," he said. "You see the decisions the animals are making as they get to where theyÕre going."
When Rambow leads participants on tracking tours like the one Saturday morning, the most common tales are told by deer and rabbits, with an occasional mouse or pheasant pattern.
Before hunting season started last fall, there were about 180 deer in the herd on the Blue Mounds. Those numbers are down from previous years, when there were as many as 400 in 1996, for example.
While no formal count has been attempted, Rambow said coyotes are a constant presence on the Mounds as well.
Another tracking session is planned for 10 a.m. Saturday.
In a press release advertising the sessions, Rambow says, "We use tracking as a kind of tool to help people get back in touch with nature. It brings you down to earth and connects you to nature.
"When you get down on your knees following deer tracks, you see how the deer feels, how it sees things."
Trackers are advised to dress for the elements and bring their own snowshoes if they have them. A limited number of adult snowshoes are available on a first-come first-served basis.
Meet in the trail center building, formerly the park shelter house. The building was enclosed this summer for winter use, but it's not heated.
Rambow said Park Partners is working to locate a wood stove to make the building a winter warming house for the tracking sessions and other winter park activities.